1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a control method of the printing apparatus, and a non-transitory storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile apparatus, a printhead prints, for example, an image based on image data onto a printing medium supplied from a feeding unit. As the printing medium, a rolled continuous sheet, a cut sheet, a plastic sheet, or the like is generally used. In particular, a printing apparatus using a continuous sheet, which can handle a printing medium of large size, generally includes a cutting mechanism that cuts the continuous sheet at a predetermined position after printing.
If the continuous sheet cut by the cutting mechanism is extremely short, like a strip, then there may occur end buckling at the start of cutting or jamming of the strip into the apparatus caused by movement of the cutting mechanism, resulting in incomplete cutting. In addition, if the cut continuous sheet is extremely short, the cut continuous sheet may remain in the printing apparatus without being discharged from the apparatus. To prevent such a cutting failure or discharge failure, the printing apparatus sets a minimum cut length that is a minimum length necessary when cutting the continuous sheet by the cutting mechanism. Japanese Patent No. 3826999 discloses a technique of, when cutting continuous sheet by a cutting mechanism, adding a margin to an image to forcibly increase the length of the cut continuous sheet to the minimum cut length if an image to be printed by the printhead is shorter than the minimum cut length.
In recent years, technologies to implement printing without margins on the four sides of a printed product (to be referred to as a “marginless printing” hereinafter) and printing with margins on the four sides of a printed product (to be referred to as a “bordered printing” hereinafter) have been developed. In marginless printing, printing is performed within the range greater than the continuous sheet width in the main scanning direction of the printhead, which is the widthwise direction of the continuous sheet, thereby forming a printed image without margins at the two edges of the continuous sheet in the widthwise direction. Additionally, in marginless printing, image printing is started after the continuous sheet is fed in an extra amount in its conveyance direction. As soon as the image printing start position of the continuous sheet reaches the cutting position of the cutting mechanism, the cutting mechanism cuts the portion fed in the extra amount and part of the image.
This makes it possible to form a printed image without a margin at the leading edge of the continuous sheet. Note that the action of cutting the fed portion and the part of the image for marginless printing will be referred to as a leading edge trimming cut. In the leading edge trimming cut, the continuous sheet including the fed portion and the part of the image is cut. A setting is done such that the total length of the fed portion and the part of the image of the continuous sheet becomes a leading edge trimming cut length. The leading edge trimming cut length is set to be equal to or more than at least the minimum cut length due to the above-described reason.
In marginless printing, image printing is continuously done on the continuous sheet. When the printing ends at the trailing edge of the image in the conveyance direction, the printing edge portion is conveyed to the cutting position. The continuous sheet is cut by the cutting mechanism with part of the image being left on the continuous sheet. The cut continuous sheet thus changes to a cut sheet, and a printed image without a margin on any of the four sides can be formed. The printing apparatus waits until reception of the next printing instruction in a state in which the part of the image is left on the continuous sheet.
Control of a printing apparatus according to related art will be described here with reference to FIG. 8 assuming a case in which an image shorter than a minimum cut length Lc is printed by marginless printing. Note that the positions of broken lines indicate a plurality of cutting positions Ca and Cb at which continuous sheet 1 is cut. An arrow Y in FIG. 8 indicates the conveyance direction Y of the continuous sheet 1. The continuous sheet 1 is conveyed from an upstream side on the upper side of FIG. 8 to the downstream side on the lower side. First, upon receiving a marginless printing instruction for an image 20b of a length Lb shorter than the minimum cut length Lc, the printing apparatus (not shown) adds a leading edge fed portion 33 for leading edge trimming cut to the leading edge of the continuous sheet 1 in the conveyance direction Y. Next, the printing apparatus sets the first cutting position Ca on the upstream side of the leading edge fed portion 33 in the conveyance direction Y. Here, the length from the leading edge of the continuous sheet 1 to the first cutting position Ca becomes at least the minimum cut length Lc.
Since the image 20b after the first cutting position Ca is shorter than the minimum cut length, the printing apparatus adds a leading edge margin 31 and a trailing edge margin 32 to the leading edge and trailing edge of the image 20b in the conveyance direction Y, and sets the second cutting position Cb. The length between the cutting positions Ca and Cb, including the image 20b, the leading edge margin 31, and the trailing edge margin 32, is thus set to at least the minimum cut length Lc.
However, the leading edge fed portion 33 for leading edge trimming cut as in the example of FIG. 8 is unnecessary for the user. Additionally, in the printed product as a cut sheet that is formed by cutting the continuous sheet between the cutting positions Ca and Cb, the leading edge margin 31, the image 20b, and the trailing edge margin 32 are integrally formed in this order from the leading edge in the conveyance direction Y and discharged to the outside of the printing apparatus. The printed product at this stage does not meet the user's requirement of the final form, that is, a form without a margin on any of the four sides of the image 20b. Hence, the leading edge margin 31 and the trailing edge margin 32 need to be cut by post-processing of the user. In addition, the leading edge margin 31 and the trailing edge margin 32 which have been cut off are unnecessary.
Hence, when performing marginless printing in the example of FIG. 8, the printing apparatus operates for the leading edge fed portion 33 for leading edge trimming cut, the leading edge margin 31 of the image 20b, the image 20b, and the trailing edge margin 32 of the image 20b in this order from the leading edge in the conveyance direction Y. That is, the leading edge fed portion 33 for leading edge trimming cut and the leading edge margin 31 of the image 20b to attain the minimum cut length are unnecessary for the user. Plain portions that are unnecessary for the user and are not used for printing are individually continuously generated, wastefully consuming the continuous sheet.